A blog launched on the 41st anniversary of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), the first pro-life organisation in the world, established on 11 January 1967. SPUC has been a leader in the educational and political battle against abortion, human embryo experimentation and euthanasia since then. I write this blog in my role as SPUC's chief executive, commenting on pro-life news, reflecting on pro-life issues and promoting SPUC's work.

Wednesday, 31 August 2011

SPUC is re-launching its information on charities as an online index, with new entries and updated information added as and when new information is received. Today's charity is the Antenatal Results & Choices (ARC).

Antenatal Results & Choices (ARC) was founded as “Support Around Termination for Foetal Abnormality” (SAFTA). It claims to be "the only national charity which provides non-directive support and information to parents throughout the antenatal testing process."

In July 2008 ARC lobbied MPs, urging them to vote against amendments which sought to curb abortion in limited ways. ARC's briefing for MPs cited various arguments in favour of abortion on the grounds of disability, such as:

"forcing a woman to continue a pregnancy when the fetus was known to be seriously abnormal would be ‘inhumane’."

"the majority of women are in favour of termination being available if a significant disability is diagnosed."

"preventing abortion on the grounds of fetal abnormality after 24 weeks would be extremely detrimental to those women who discover an abnormality at a late stage."

"Removing fetal abnormality as grounds for abortion at all gestations would particularly affect those parents who know they are carriers of a genetic disorder and risk having a baby with the condition."

"Abortion on grounds of fetal abnormality is not eugenics".

SPUC comment: ARC is actively complicit in the fatal discrimination against disabled people enabled by legal abortion.

Tuesday, 30 August 2011

Abortion counselling story dangerously misleading
SPUC has warned about a newspaper story which claims that: "Abortion rules are set to be tightened by the Government in the biggest shake-up in a generation ... Pro-life campaigners suggest the change could result in up to 60,000 fewer abortions each year in Britain." (Robert Mendick, Sunday Telegraph, 28 Aug http://tgr.ph/nlR42z ) The Department of Health says it is drafting proposals which are expected to say who can be a pregnancy counsellor and what expectant mothers must be told. Paul Tully, SPUC's general secretary, said: "Handing the drafting of proposals relating to abortion to the Department of Health is like putting the fox in charge of the chicken-coop. The Department of Health commissions the vast majority of abortions in Britain, and says doctors should provide abortion on demand." John Smeaton, SPUC's director, also commented: "I urge pro-lifers not to be misled by the Sunday Telegraph story. Instead, pro-lifers should write to their MPs urging them to tell the government that in any proposals put forward:

No counsellor should be required to be a conduit to abortion services;

and counsellors who refuse on grounds of conscience or other good grounds to refer women to abortion services are not prevented from operating as pregnancy counsellors." [SPUC, 28 August] http://bit.ly/paYeFE

Call for government adviser to be sacked over assisted suicide backing
SPUC Pro-Life has called for Martin Green, the government's Dementia Champion, to be sacked after his backing of assisted suicide for elderly patients (Telegraph, 29 Aug http://tgr.ph/q3Gshg) Paul Tully, general secretary of SPUC Pro-Life, said: "Mr Green, who works for the English Community Care Association, representing the interests of care homes, is clearly not interested in caring for some dementia sufferers. He seems to want them dead. According to The Telegraph, Mr Green called for 'the mantra of choice and control' for patients to be extended to helping them to commit suicide when they could not do so by themselves ... A man with these views has no place advising the government on health policy, and is a disgrace to the English Community Care Association." [SPUC, 29 August] http://bit.ly/qBtlJg

"Mr Green, who works for the English Community Care Association, representing the interests of care homes, is clearly not interested in caring for some dementia sufferers. He seems to want them dead.

"According to The Telegraph, Mr Green called for 'the mantra of choice and control' for patients to be extended to helping them to commit suicide when they could not do so by themselves. Mr Green is presenting a false and evil argument. It is one thing to offer people choices like whether they are cared for at home or in a hospital - it is altogether different to ask suffering patients whether they think their quality of life is too poor, and whether they want to commit suicide. This will put intolerable pressure on many vulnerable people. It is not unusual for elderly and disabled people to become depressed, and depression is a major factor in suicidal thinking and behaviour. Mr Green argues that suicide is a normal behaviour of capable people. It is not.

"Not only would legalising assisted suicide for the elderly create insecurity and a sense of worthlessness among older people, it would also provoke discrimination and prejudice among carers and care home staff. Imagine a government advisor on race relations saying that immigrants found it difficult to commit suicide and so should be helped to do so.

"The 2005 Mental Capacity Act already allows hospitals to kill certain dependent patients who require assisted feeding and fluids by withholding that care. Dementia patients who have signed documents such as a healthcare power of attorney under the 2005 Act would be sitting targets if assisted suicide became a healthcare choice as Mr Green suggests.

"A man with these views has no place advising the government on health policy, and is a disgrace to the English Community Care Association."

Sunday, 28 August 2011

A story in the Sunday Telegraph this morning is boldly headlined: "Abortion rules are set to be tightened by the Government in the biggest shake-up in a generation".

The story goes on to say: "Pro-life campaigners suggest the change could result in up to 60,000 fewer abortions each year in Britain." To put it mildly, this is dangerously misleading. Here's the story so far.

Worries that abortion agencies are offering no counselling, or biased guidance, to pregnant women, have led MPs to propose that women should be offered independent counselling. Frank Field MP and Nadine Dorries MP have suggested that any woman who has an unplanned pregnancy should get an offer of seeing
an independent counsellor.

This suggestion is now being taken up by the Department of Health. The Department says it is drafting proposals which are expected to say who can be a pregnancy counsellor and what expectant mothers must be told. These proposals will be published in the form of a consultation, the terms of which have yet to be announced.

Here's how the government replied earlier this month to a question put by Baroness Gould: "To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will finalise their proposals for all women seeking an abortion to be offered counselling; and who will be consulted in determining the proposals"

" ... For the minority of women who require formal therapeutic counselling, services should have formal care pathways in place with access to trained counsellors with appropriate expertise. We are looking to strengthen these existing arrangements and are drawing up proposals to enable all women who are seeking an abortion to be offered access to independent counselling. We would want the counselling to be provided by appropriately qualified individuals. Detailed proposals are being worked on. We plan to consult widely on those later this year and will finalise our plans in early 2012."

Here's what my colleague, Paul Tully, SPUC's general secretary, says about the government's latest announcement (in the current edition of the Pro-Life Times):

“Handing the drafting of proposals relating to abortion to the Department of Health is like putting the fox in charge of the chicken-coop. The Department of Health commissions the vast majority of abortions in Britain, and says doctors should provide abortion on demand. Successive governments have regarded abortion as an answer to unmarried teenagers and other vulnerable women who get pregnant.

“Since 2004, most NHS abortions have been transferred to private clinics, and the health department now funds more than 9 out of 10 abortions at these clinics. If the Department now want counsellors to help pregnant women avoid abortions, it would represent a major change of heart. We remain very wary of the
proposals and the Department’s involvement.”

Paul Tully adds: “Pro-life counselling can save many lives but independent counselling is not the same thing. It all depends on the approach of the counsellor and the information provided.”

I urge pro-lifers not to be misled by the Sunday Telegraph story. Instead, write to your MP urging him or her to tell the government that in any proposals put forward:

No counsellor should be required to be a conduit to abortion services;

and counsellors who refuse on grounds of conscience or other good grounds to refer women to abortion services are not prevented from operating as pregnancy counsellors.

Saturday, 27 August 2011

Liam Gibson (pictured), SPUC's Northern Ireland development officer, reports today on a conference SPUC is holding in March 2012 to combat insidious government policies which lead to abortion. The day conference will be held in the Belfast Conference Hotel.

Liam writes:

Since the early 1980s the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children has worked with Northern Ireland’s politicians in blocking attempts by the abortion lobby to the introduce the Abortion Act to the Province.

In addition, in July 2010 Northern Ireland's health department withdrew its interim guidance on abortion, following SPUC's two successful court challenges in May 2009 and in December/November 2009.

With the success of the peace process the threat of the Act being imposed from Westminster has significantly diminished. Nevertheless, Northern Ireland has been badly affected by the same social policies which have so seriously damaged family life across Europe and north America.

In recent months various media stories have highlighted the dangerous trend toward the increasing sexualisation of children. At the same time politicians have lamented the lack of responsibility taken by parents for the behaviour of their children. Despite these concerns, it remains government policy to facilitate recreational sex among underage children by supplying them with powerful chemical steroids and abortifacients without the knowledge of their parents.

Supporters of this policy claim it is necessary to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies. However, 26 years after the Gillick ruling allowed family planning clinics to provide birth control to underage children, the conception rate for teenage girls remains notoriously high. In England and Wales over half the recorded pregnancies among mothers under the age of 18 end in abortion. It’s simply impossible to calculate how many early abortions occur as a result of the so-called morning-after pill and other forms of abortifacient birth control drugs and devices. Other consequences of this policy include the epidemic level of sexually-transmitted infections among young people, often leading to infertility and serious health problems in later life.

Happily, political developments have reached a point where it is now possible for the pro-life movement to call on the Northern Ireland Assembly to re-examine some of the anti-family policies which have been in place for decades.

With a view to preparing the way for a re-evaluation of public policy in this area, SPUC will be hosting a conference in Belfast, 10 March 2012 to discuss this and related issues. Professor David Paton will be a principle speaker at the conference and will present his research into the effects of the British government’s disastrous teenage pregnancy strategy.

Other speakers will include Jim Wells MLA, the deputy chair of the Stormont health committee and Pat Ramsey MLA, the deputy chair of the Assembly’s all-party pro-life group.

For further information about the conference write to Liam Gibson at liamgibson@spuc.org.uk or telephone (02890) 778018.

Friday, 26 August 2011

Daniel Blackman, a youth officer and researcher at SPUC, has given me the following report on a pro-life outreach in Stratford last weekend. It involved young supporters of the Society as well as young pro-life colleagues from other pro-life groups.

Daniel writes: Following the success and hard work of the 11 young members of the SPUC team and friends who initiated and ran the Lewisham Peoples Day event in July which you can read about here and here, they have been out again in London, this time in Stratford, and for a very good reason.

The Borough of Newham has the sixth highest number of abortions in the entire country. In 2010 there were 2,341 abortions recorded for residents of Newham Borough. This is higher than many of the larger cities in the UK.

Newham is a very dangerous place for unborn children and their mothers these days.

With these sorry statistics in mind, it was of great concern to younger members of SPUC to learn that the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), England’s largest private abortion provider, has just opened its newest abortuary right in the heart of Stratford, a major town in Newham Borough.

How on earth is a large abortion centre in the heart of a borough that already has one of the worst abortion problems in the country going to help the local people? How, for example, is BPAS setting up shop going to help cut the tragic abortion rate?

Last Saturday, SPUC launched a pro-life community outreach project in Stratford. In a very short space of time a team of 10 pro-life leaders were gathered together: five young adults from SPUC, two women involved in pro-life activities, and three members from the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants.

We had an eye-catching display with child development posters and the SPUC How You Began foetal model set. We also brought hundreds of good quality pro-life materials to give away for free, including SPUC’s Abortion: Your Right to Know leaflet, Good Counsel Network's pregnancy leaflets and 40 Days for Life You can Stop Injustice magazines.

The day began at 10.30am and ended at 2pm. Our team spent the whole time engaging with members of the public. We spoke to nurses, medical students, mums and grannies, teens and young couples. We noticed that the people of Stratford were interested in what we had to say and offer, many of them expressing strong support for pro-life work, and shock that BPAS has chosen to set up shop in their community. It is pertinent to note that not a single person to whom we spoke was aware that an abortion centre had been set up right where they live. The day was a success with twenty-two people signed up to receive more information and learn about what they could do to tackle the problem of abortion in their area.

As with any planning application, there needs to be a certain amount of public consultation. From our research it appears that the BPAS planning application, which was open to public comment on the Newham Borough planning applications website, did not receive a single comment.

From the same website we found that 47 letters were sent to adjoining occupiers of the BPAS centre (it is a large residential building, with BPAS occupying the ground floor, and two levels of residential flats above). However, none of the letters sent out were registered as having been received, and no replies were received from the adjoining occupiers. Moreover, the letter does not make clear that the proposed clinic to be opened was in fact an abortion facility.

There is virtually no public awareness about what has happened in their area. The public consultation period seems to have gone completely unnoticed by everyone, and with minimal effort put into letting local people know about something that every resident should have known about. People have strong stances on abortion. Planning permission for a facility that kills unborn children is not the same as seeking permission to build a wall or extend the driveway.

In summary:

None of the forty-seven letters sent to adjoining occupiers were registered as having been received. This is stated on the Newham Borough Physical Regeneration website.

From the Newham planning applications website, there were no comments from the general public at all. BPAS has so far been completely unopposed.

Possibly one reason why no one responded is Newham Borough’s failure to make clear that the clinic to be opened is in fact an abortion facility.

According to the 2001 national census, Newham borough has the most ethnically diverse demographic, and the highest youth population. Women from ethnic minorities and young women are disproportionately affected by abortion. This makes the setting up of an abortion clinic in the area all the more questionable.

We still have time to raise public awareness, and to get the residents of Stratford and the surrounding area to write to the councillors and MP, raise their voice in opposition, stating that Stratford and the Borough of Newham do not want abortionists in their area.

Thursday, 25 August 2011

Top stories:Swiss primary school children given "sex box" to explore sexual pleasure
Primary school children in Basel have been given a "sex box" to encourage them to explore sexual pleasure. The box includes a wooden penis and a fabric vagina. Officials in Basel have received 3,000 letters of complaints from parents. [Christian Institute, 24 August] http://bit.ly/pmCHAy SPUC's Safe At School campaign helps parents fight against similar sex education programmes in the UK.

US vice-president backtracks on one-child policy comments
Joe Biden, the US vice-president, has backtracked on comments in China which implied sympathy for China's one-child policy. In a later statement Mr Biden's spokesman said that both he and the Obama administration condemned the policy. [Washington Times, 24 August] http://bit.ly/pnrXjx Both the US and UK governments fund pro-abortion population control agencies which are complicit in the policy.

Wednesday, 24 August 2011

SPUC is re-launching its information on charities as an online index, with new entries and updated information added as and when new information is received. Today's charity is the Association of Medical Research Charities.

One of many examples of AMRC's support for unethical medical research is the support it gave to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. In a briefing for parliamentarians it said:

"We welcome[s] the provisions in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill that relate to research. We particularly support provisions that allow the creation of human admixed embryos"

"Stem cells from three different sources are currently used in research: adult (including reprogrammed cells), fetal and embryonic stem cells ... [C]losing off any one avenue of research would be detrimental to the potential development of therapies."

"The creation of human admixed embryos (HAEs) is necessary to overcome the limited availability of donated human eggs – one of the major barriers to embryonic stem cell research."

"If research involving HAEs is prohibited, UK scientists will no longer be able to work at the cutting edge of stem cell research."

SPUC comment: Human embryos are human beings from the moment of their conception (fertilisation or an analogous form of creation such as cloning). Removing stem cells from them abuses and usually kills them. The creation of hybrid embryos is also unethical.

Polish parliamentary commission rejects anti-abortion bill
A commission of Poland's parliament has voted against a bill seeking to ban all abortions. The bill is backed by a 600,000-strong petition and by the Catholic Church. Mariusz Dzierzawski of the Stop Abortion group: "[A]t the next election...we'll seek to make life a key campaign issue. If the MPs don't want to support life, we'll have to change the MPs". [Tablet, 23 August] http://bit.ly/r7LHAz

Dutch priest refuses to conduct funeral for man who chose euthanasia
A priest in The Netherlands refused to conduct a funeral for man who had chosen euthanasia. Norbert van der Sluis said he was following both his conscience and the advice of bishops, adding that he would not allow another priest to conduct such a funeral in his church. The denomination of the church is not clear from the source. [DutchNews.nl, 23 August] http://bit.ly/nVaUAS

Afghan government starts population control programme
The government of Afghanisation has started a birth-control programme to reduce the country's population. The programme will involve the promotion of contraception. Khalilullah Mohammad, a lecturer in Islamic law at Kabul University, said: "It is not up to us to control the reproduction of children. The holy Koran tells us not to kill your children... If anyone asks me advice on this new plan, I will strictly oppose it." [Reuters, 23 August] http://reut.rs/ojZWaG Many drugs and devices which work as contraceptives also induce early abortions by killing newly-conceived embryonic children.

Tuesday, 23 August 2011

Young British Christian adults much more concerned about pro-life issues than elderly Christians
Young British Christians are much more concerned about pro-life issues than elderly Christians, suggests a new poll. Two out of three Christians aged 18-34 surveyed said abortion and euthanasia were very important issues, compared to one in three Christians aged over 65. [Inspire Magazine, 23 August] http://bit.ly/qywnp8 John Smeaton, SPUC director, commented: "This is encouraging news for the defence of the sanctity of human life. It shows that the pro-life movement has a promising future."

English coroners turning a blind eye to assisted suicide, claims report
Coroners in England are turning a blind eye to suspected cases of assisted suicide, claims a new report. Two coroners (one retired) interviewed by Demos, a think-tank, said they avoided looking too closely into such cases in order to spare families problems. [Telegraph, 23 August] http://tgr.ph/rdagXW Demos is hosting a fake commission into assisted suicide on behalf of the euthanasia lobby.

UK IVF lottery suspended pending watchdog review
A lottery in which couples can win IVF treatment has been suspended pending a review by the Charity Commission. Entrants paid £20 for a ticket to win £25,000 worth of treatment. [Express, 21 August] http://bit.ly/pBHNTG SPUC's Anthony McCarthy has criticised the lottery as trivialising human life and procreation.

"...does not fund any research that uses human embryos or foetal tissue. However, we are funding a very small number of research projects that use human embryonic stem cell lines grown in the lab."

Cancer Research UK supported the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)'s regulations on the creation of animal/human hybrid embryos for research purposes and were disappointed when the HFEA stopped licensing this research pending the results of a consultation. In a letter (11/10/10) from Harpal S. Kumar, its chief executive, Cancer Research UK outlined its support for research using embryonic stem cells and its support for couples to screen human embryos for inherited cancer genes.

SPUC comment: Human embryos are human beings from the moment of their conception (fertilisation or an analogous form of creation such as cloning). Removing stem cells from them abuses and usually kills them. The creation of hybrid embryos is also unethical.

"Volition is an astonishing achievement ... Volition places its central character, who goes unnamed, in the historical contexts of what the filmmakers clearly believe to be three of the greatest human rights violations in history: the holocaust, slavery, and abortion ... The premise is as clever and well-executed as it is effective."

Although "Volition" was released as a standard film in 2008, it has only now been released on YouTube, thus making it easy to share it with a global audience. Do watch it below or on YouTube and spread the word! The film also has a Facebook Page which you can 'Like'.

"One of the best-known fields within cutting-edge science today is stem cell research. Every week not just the scientific press but increasingly the mainstream media report new breakthroughs. The advances are being made at all stages of the scientific process: speculation, theory, laboratory research, clinical trials and patient treatments. At the same time as these technical achievements, a debate about the ethics of different types of stem cell technology continues to rage, nationally and internationally.

Everyone conscious of the debate about stem cells realises that it is not merely a pedantic in-house discussion between academics. Momentous issues are at stake: the creation and destruction of human entities, the future of medical science and the limits of official power. Individuals, too, may be powerfully affected: from the family of the Parkinson’s patient hoping for a cure, to the women suffering life-threatening side-effects after donating their eggs for research.1 It’s a debate no one interested in science and humanity can afford to miss."

Friday, 19 August 2011

Leading US apologist to speak in London on Wednesday
Michael Voris (pictured), a leading US Catholic apologist, will be speaking in London on Wednesday evening (24 August). In a video this week, Mr Voris highlighted the responsibility of Catholics to hold pro-abortion Catholic politicians to account. Details of how to book tickets can be found at http://bit.ly/nxAPwO [John Smeaton, 19 August] http://bit.ly/nOSU9i

UK 'locked-in' man launches assisted suicide court case
A UK man with 'locked-in' syndrome has launched an assisted suicide case in the high court. The unnamed man is asking the court whether medical staff or solicitors will be prosecuted if they assist his suicide. His wife is opposed to the move. [Telegraph, 18 August] http://tgr.ph/oZ8FDm

Australian pro-life bioethicist expresses concern about UK nurses-and-abortion success
Fr John Fleming, a leading Australian bioethicist, has expressed concern about the basis for a recent pro-life success. Two nurses were spared from participating in abortion after their lawyer argued that their Catholic beliefs protected them against discrimination. Fr Fleming said the wrongness of abortion "is not based on a peculiar 'Catholic belief' about the beginning of life. It is based upon the scientific reality that human life begins at the beginning, at fertilisation." [John Smeaton, 18 August] http://bit.ly/pJjvmA

Please support SPUC's outreach in Stratford this Saturday
SPUC youth activists will be manning a stall tomorrow in Stratford, London. The outreach follows a successful similar outreach in Lewisham, London. People interested in supporting the stall should contact Daniel Blackman danielblackman@spuc.org.uk [John Smeaton, 18 August] http://bit.ly/owsTjb

Michael Voris, the renowned American Catholic apologist, is this week presenting "No bull in Madrid: fighting the pop culture bull" for young Catholic pilgrims attending World Youth Day in Madrid. One of the videos he has produced this week is a superb explanation of the responsibility of Catholics, both laity and clergy but particularly bishops, to "lay it on the line" to Catholic politicians who support abortion. Michael says:

"The problem of pro-abortion politicians who are Catholic has been one which has been too long ignored in the Church these past 40 years or so ... The refusal on the part of many leaders in the Church to really take on the issue of Catholics who support abortion has done tremendous harm to many of the faithful ... The youth of today have been left afloat on a dangerous sea ... People in the Church, bishops, priests and laity must, for the love of God, step up and lay it on the line and be there for these young people. They are the victims, they are the ones who have been lied to..."

"Living the Catholic Faith Radically!", Wednesday 24 August, at Regent Hall, 275 Oxford Street, London W1C 2DJ. Doors open 7pm. The closest tube station is Oxford Circus. Bond Street and Marble Arch are also within walking distance. All tickets are £5 and will be sold on a first come, first serve basis. You can purchase them via paypal at http://smeatonscorner.blogspot.com/2011/08/michael-voris-speaking-in-london-in.html

Do please try to attend and to spread the word. If you're on Facebook, you can help spread the word by using the event's Facebook page to invite your Facebook friends.

P.S. People who follow the US Catholic blogosphere closely may have stumbled across some tittle-tattle about Michael's company. Michael sent us an email about it yesterday which we reproduce below with his permission:

"[T]he story was a piece of dirty journalism. When the reporter and I hung up the phone, we had agreed that I needed a few days to get to the bottom of all this. He agreed. I said because of the complications of being overseas and having to try to reach the state and deal with government bureaucracy, it might take me up to a week. I notice in his story, he relates that they started looking into the anonymous tip as far back as August 10 with multiple calls. I said I would need a few days as well. He agreed. In about 24 hours, they ran the story. In any realm of journalism, that's underhanded and deceptive."

Thursday, 18 August 2011

On Saturday I blogged about the representations made by the Thomas More Legal Centre in support of two nurses who were being pressured to participate in abortions in their hospital. Following those representations, the hospital backed down without the matter going to court.

Fr John Fleming Ph.D, SPUC's bioethical consultant, has kindly sent me his opinion on that success, below:

"The right to conscientious objection to participating in abortion procedures has been under attack in many jurisdictions around the world. So much so, that any victory in protecting those rights for doctors and nurses is to be welcomed.

And yet ... one is left feeling somewhat uneasy about the argument used by the Thomas More Legal Centre in its recent successful representation in support of two nurses.

I do not mean to criticise the Thomas More Legal Centre which, in defence of its clients, has to use the law as it is.

My criticism is of the law itself which is now seen to be in the grips of the philosophical lunacies of postmodernism and that philosophy’s flight from reality. It now appears that the objective findings of the natural sciences are no more than “beliefs”, subjective beliefs which are impervious to rational scrutiny.

So we reach the absurd conclusion that the beginning of biological human life is not an issue to be decided by the scientific facts of the matter. It becomes just a 'belief' which is apparently protected by the UK’s Equality Act 2010. I could just as well expect that a belief that the moon is made of green cheese is also to be protected under the Equality Act.

For those of us who ground the search for truth in objective reality, such as the reality of the natural world, this is intolerable. Over the centuries the natural sciences have become ever more sophisticated and we have become aware as much of how little we know as of how much we know.

But what the natural sciences have revealed to us with ever greater precision is the process of the formation of the embryonic human being. It is a matter of scientific fact, not belief, that from the time when the human sperm fertilises the human egg we have a member of the human species in his or her earliest form.

It is the objective fact that human life begins at fertilisation which causes us to apply to the embryo the universally held moral conviction of the wrongfulness of killing the innocent. This is why the nurses object to abortion and to their participation in it. It is because abortion involves the killing of a human being. It is not based on a peculiar 'Catholic belief' about the beginning of life. It is based upon the scientific reality that human life begins at the beginning, at fertilisation.

Where 'beliefs' are concerned, the philosophy of personhood is beset by an astonishing array of 'beliefs'. Personhood is said to apply at 14 days after the beginning (if you want embryo experimentation), birth (if you want abortion, and up to 3 months after birth (if you want infanticide). So abortion may be morally justified on the unscientific proposition that human life does not begin at the beginning but only when we arbitrarily decide that the embryo has become a person based on a particular philosophical account of personhood.

Never mind that Article 6 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UN 1948) says that: 'Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law'.

Moral truth in British law, it appears, is not to be based on reality, on things as they really are, but more upon the way we would like things to be or believe them to be.

Here's a post from the new blog RSVP Pro-life Youth UK advertising SPUC's outreach this Saturday at Stratford in London. If you have some time this Saturday, please join or visit SPUC's youth activists there; or if not, please spread the word:

Last month we reported on the SPUC pro-life stall at Lewisham People's Day. The event is the largest free festival in South East London and Lewisham has one of the highest abortion rates in the UK. We had a great day and I think we had a large number of various positive encounters. Do read more about the day.

One of our team discussing the issues with a member of the public in Lewisham.

This weekend a young team from SPUC are doing it all again, this time in Stratford. Here's what the organisers have to say:

Are you pro-life? Would you like the opportunity to help stop abortions taking place in London? Could you give up a few hours this Saturday to help spread awareness in East London?

SPUC OUTREACH IN STRATFORD

Newham Borough in East London has the highest abortion rate in the U.K. (39.9 per 1000 women) and has the sixth highest number in Europe, with 2,341 abortions taking place every year. BPAS have recently opened a new abortion centre in the area, and so the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children will be doing a pro-life outreach there on Saturday 20th August. We aim to inform the local public about the positive pro-life services available, raise awareness about exactly what is happening in the area, and campaign against the new opening. Join SPUC this Saturday as help is needed to man the stall, distribute pro-life literature and engage with the public.

Meet outside Stratford Tube Station at 10.30am. We will finish no later than 2pm. Other details are on our facebook event page. If you use Facebook, please use the page to invite others to this fantastic event in defence of human life.

SPUC comment: It is deceitful for organisations which campaign for abortion to be legal, freely available and publicly funded to describe themselves as "pro-choice", when in fact they are pro-abortion.

UK population grows at twice EU average due to migrant baby boom
The UK's population is growing at twice the average of European Union
(EU) countries, according to the EU. The higher growth-rate is
attributed partly to higher birth rates among immigrants. [Mail, 17 August] http://bit.ly/pALRLU Every EU country still has a birth-rate below replacement level.

World Youth Day priests granted power to lift abortion excommunicationsAll
Catholic priests hearing confessions at this week's World Youth Day in
Madrid have been granted the power to absolve penitents of the sin of
abortion. In Catholic canon law procuring an abortion results in
automatic excommunication and special permission is required for
absolution. The permission has been granted by the cardinal archbishop
of Madrid. [LifeSiteNews.com, 16 August] http://bit.ly/qgu6XG

Increased cohabitation rates mean more instability for children

“(T)he
rise of cohabiting households with children is the largest unrecognized
threat to the quality and stability of children’s lives in today’s
families,” according to a new report by a US group. The Institute for
American Values’ Center for Marriage and Families says that there is an
increasing divide in US society between wealthy, stable families based
on marriage and poorer, unstable households where the parents are
cohabitees. The institute also found that divorce rates had fallen to
1960s-levels. [CNA, 17 August] http://bit.ly/ojbcZR

Tuesday, 16 August 2011

Further to my blogpost last Friday, Anthony Ozimic, SPUC's communications manager, has kindly sent me his comments explaining why more research is needed on how abortion impacts abortionists. His comments are extracts from the summary of his 2005 dissertation "The effect of abortion on moral character" (pictured. Readers who would like to read the full dissertation can request it by emailing anthonyozimic@spuc.org.uk):

Ill effects
There are some indications which suggest that substance abuse, sexual abuse, lack of respect for women, deceit, and gross negligence of professional standards may be common within the abortion industry, at least within the United States. Other phenomena, not necessarily directly associated by society generally with moral degradation, but a possible indication of personality breakdown or similar tension, are also connected anecdotally with abortion practice. Mental illness, failure at relationships and suicidal tendencies are also attributed to the experience of abortionists, at least ‘repentant’ abortionists in the aftermath of their rejection of the practice of abortion.

Further work needed
Despite there being evidence both at a theoretical and an evidential level for claiming that abortion negatively effects the moral character of abortionists, further work needs to be done at both levels to demonstrate this convincingly.

Current evidence of limited value
Regarding qualitative and quantitative evidence of a degradation of moral character among abortionists, some initial work in this area has been done by Dr Philip Ney and his wife Dr Marie Peeters, by Dr Rachel McNair and by Mark Crutcher of Life Dynamics. Ney and Peeters found in their survey of former abortionists that 100% felt that they were moderately or completely dehumanised by the abortion industry. However, as no independent quantitative studies or independent qualitative studies have been conducted into the moral characters of abortionists, the evidence is necessarily of limited value at this time [2005]. The evidence is furthermore limited mostly to the United States. We should therefore seek to use this limited evidence not for purposes of making strong claims or reaching definitive conclusions but merely to reflect upon the evidence and be enabled thereby to pose certain questions.

More data needed
Research into the negative effect of abortion on the moral character of abortionists can only evolve through the collection of more data. Surveys of current abortionists may be necessary to provide the data necessary to test possible theories. There are a number of potential obstacles, however, to a survey of current abortionists, such as access to a sufficient cohort. It may be difficult to compile contact-details of abortionists. Abortionists may refuse to respond. Pro-abortion groups may advise abortionists not to respond. Abortionists may under- or over-report more in a survey by a pro-lifer than they would in a survey by a pro-abortion or neutral surveyor, thereby skewing the data gathered. I am unaware of any surveys of British abortionists. There are significant differences in the abortion ‘cultures’ of the US and other countries, which mean that data from the US cannot be used to make definitive conclusions about abortionists in other countries. It may therefore not be possible to conduct a survey that is ethical, objective or statistically valuable.

Communist era research needed
In the same way that comparisons, connections and distinctions have been made between abortionists today and the role of persons individually and collectively in Nazi Germany, similar work could be extended to encompass both abortion and other intentional killings in Communist-era eastern Europe, where abortion rates were extremely high, with abortion in some instances being the primary form of birth control.

Goals
A good outcome would be to make those currently unconvinced of the objective wrongness of abortion to question whether abortion, viewed subjectively in terms of the effect on one's character, is desirable. Pro-abortion groups complain of an increasing shortage of abortionists, and want to recruit nurses into administering non-surgical abortions. Both exacerbating this shortage and preventing new recruitment are worthwhile and necessary goals for the pro-life movement.
If we can explain what effect abortion has on the moral character of abortionists, we may then know how to change the formation of medical staff so that abortion becomes unthinkable for them until it becomes illegal for them. It may be possible to convince medical staff that abortion will affect negatively their moral characters. Medics ambitious for their careers may then increasingly avoid performing abortions, see any money to be made from abortion as ‘danger money’ or even a Faustian pact, and conclude about abortion that ‘where there's smoke, there's fire’: abortion is unethical. After all, the term 'ethics' comes from the Greek word 'ethos' meaning 'character'. Bad ethics is rightly associated with bad character.
I also hope that by reflecting upon the negative effect of abortion upon the moral character of abortionists and the action of conscience within abortionists, a need for greater respect for conscientious objection to abortion may be seen.

UK guidelines may strip pharmacists of conscience rights on morning after pill
New guidelines issued by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
could result in pro-life pharmacists losing their job. The guidelines
say that pharmacists with a conscientious objection to dispensing
morning-after pills or IVF drugs must refer customers to another
pharmacist and ensure that the second pharmacist can supply the drugs.
John Smeaton, SPUC director, commented: "The GPhC could soon be faced
with a legal challenge, as the contractual demands of employers in no
way trumps the legal right to conscientious objection, which is
protected in international human rights instruments." [LifeSiteNews.com, 15 August] http://bit.ly/ou4wti and [Catholic Herald, 15 August] http://bit.ly/nOhmzh

Filipino parishioners to rally against trade in abortion drugs
The clergy and parishioners of a Manila Catholic church are due to
rally this Friday against the trade in abortion drugs. The rally will
protest against the authorities' failure to stamp out the trade. Msgr.
Jose Clemente Ignacio, the church's rector, said the authorities "need
to capture all distributors, all suppliers and close down all abortion
clinics in" the area." [Philippine Daily Inquirer, 15 August] http://bit.ly/q9pEz8

Media ignores vandalism of Austrian pro-life office
The media in Austria has ignored an attack by vandals on the Austrian
office of the European regional director of Human Life International
(HLI). Seven windows were broken and other damage caused following a
pro-life march. During the march pro-lifers required extensive
protection from pro-abortion activists wearing black masks (pictured). [Vatican Insider, 12 August] http://bit.ly/rh1LhR

Monday, 15 August 2011

SPUC is re-launching its information on charities as an online index, with new entries and updated information added as and when new information is received. Today's charity is the Huntingdon's Disease Association.

The Huntingdon's Disease Association
is a charity "which exists to support people affected by the disease
and to provide information and advice to professionals whose task it is
to support Huntington's disease families."

A factsheet
on the Association's website explains, without ethical comment, how
preimplatation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and prenatal screening can be
used to detect if an unborn child has the gene for Huntingdon's disease.
It also explains how couples at risk of Huntingdon's disease can use
IVF and AID (artificial insemination by donor) to avoid passing on the
disease to their children. SPUC comment: By failing to condemn these
anti-life practices at the same time as providing practical information
about them, the Association is facilitating those practices.

John Smeaton

About Me

I became involved in SPUC after graduating, when I established a branch in south London in 1974. I have worked full-time for SPUC for 39 years. I became chief executive of SPUC in the UK in 1996, having been general secretary since 1978. I was elected vice-president of International Right to Life Federation in 2005. At UN conferences in Cairo, Copenhagen, Beijing, Istanbul and Rome, I helped coordinate more than 150 pro-life/pro-family groups resulting in pro-life victories in Cairo, Istanbul and Rome. I was educated at Salesian College, London, before going to Oxford where I graduated in English Language and Literature. I qualified as a teacher, becoming head of English at a secondary school. I am married to Josephine. We have a grown-up family and we live in north London.

Acknowledgement

I am grateful to SPUC's staff, supporters and advisers for their help to me in researching, writing and producing this blog.

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